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Event Description:Hindu, Jain, Sikh, & Buddhist holyday: Diwali (the Festival of Lights) is the biggest festival in India. An ancient harvest festival, Diwali is a 4-day celebration for Hindus of the triumph of good over evil, grounded in tales of the Gods & Goddesses, including Rama, Kali, Ganesha, Krishna, Lakshmi, Parvati, and Shiva, associated with wealth, prosperity, and goodness, and celebrated by lighting lamps and exchanging gifts.[i]Some Buddhists celebrate this as the day Emperor Ashoka converted from Hinduism to Buddhism in 262 BCE.[ii]For Jains, it marks Lord Mahavir’s attainment of Nirvana in 527 BCE and the beginning of the New Year.[iii]Sikhs remember Diwali as Bandi Chhor Diwas (Day of Liberation) when the 6th Guru and 52 princes were freed from prison by the Muslim Mughal emperor in 1619.[iv] Diwali is a significant occasion for South Asians from many religious traditions.